Careers Policy
Contents
- Aims
- Statutory Requirements
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Practice
- Pupils with SEND
- Access to Impartial Information and Progression routes
- Provider Access Policy
- Evaluation and Monitoring
- Quality Standards for Young people’s Information, Advice and Guidance
- A Code of Practice for Adults involved in Education, Careers Education, and
- Guidelines to Young People
- Alumni
A young person’s career is their pathway through learning and work.
Menorah High is committed to providing a planned Careers Education and Guidance (CEG) programme for all pupils in Years 7-13.
The school calls this programme “Moving Forward”.
Careers education is central to Menorah Highs’ overall aim of raising achievement for all pupils.
All young people, regardless of their race, gender or academic abilities need a planned programme of activities to help them make decisions and plan their careers, both in school and after they leave.
Aims
In accordance with statutory guidance, Menorah High aims to offer independent careers education guidance for all students (accessible through contacting the Careers Leader), to inspire and motivate students to fulfil their potential. We aim to help every student develop high aspirations and
consider a broad and ambitious range of careers and employment. Menorah High aim to meet (and exceed wherever possible) the DfE recommendations that schools should:
- Provide sustained contacts with employers, mentors and coaches who can inspire students with a sense of what they can achieve with the right choices and help them understand how to make this a reality
- Have a strategy for the advice and guidance that we provide to young people. The strategy should be embedded within a clear framework linked to outcomes that reflects our ethos and meets the needs of all our students
- Provide access to a range of activities that inspire young people, including employer talks, careers fairs, motivational speakers, and coaches
- In-house support for students must be combined with advice and guidance from independent sources to meet the school’s legal requirements. It should be noted that website access is not sufficient in itself to meet the statutory duty to encourage young people to think about the opportunities available to them
- To be consciously working to prevent all forms of stereotyping in the advice and guidance that is provided, to ensure that girls from all backgrounds and diversity groups consider the widest possible range of careers, including those that are often portrayed as primarily for one or other gender
Statutory requirements
The 2011 Education Act in line with Careers Guidance and Access for Education and Training Providers (January 2018) places a duty on the school to give all pupils in Years 7-13 access to careers education and impartial information, advice and guidance.
At Menorah High we have a programme of Careers education and guidance in place for all students in Years 7-13, based on the Gatsby Benchmarks Link to Gatsby Benchmarks
Our embedded careers programme aims to inform and encourage pupils to consider their career options, and take steps to understand their choices and pathways. We provide statutory independent careers guidance to pupils from year 7 onwards.
Our programme has been developed to meet the expectations outlined in the Gatsby Benchmarks:
- A stable careers programme with a careers leader
- Learning from career and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each pupil
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experience of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
- Our programme doesn’t show bias towards any particular career path, and promotes a full range of technical and academic options for pupils.
- It is structured in a way that builds upon previous years, and the overarching aim is divided between the Key Stages so that pupils are encouraged to think appropriately about their future. We provide aims, objectives and activities for each year group.
- A person’s career - their pathway through life, work, and study - is a large part of their life after school, and our Careers programme at Menorah High works to prepare students for this through developing students’ skills, knowledge, and aspirations.
- The school is likewise committed to fulfilling its statutory duties for Careers education and guidance
- Schools must provide independent careers guidance from Years 7- 13, and should give education and training providers the opportunity to talk to students about the full range of progression routes, including technical qualifications and apprenticeships.
As of 2022, two technical education / apprenticeship encounters are mandated for KS3, and a further two for KS4.
Further information relating to this is set out in the Provider Access Policy.
The recommendations include:
- Ensuring that young people have a better understanding about career choice, subsequent progression and its impact on their long term earnings
- Developing better, and more carefully planned opportunities for young women (in our case) to meet professionals working in non-stereotypical roles, and to learn more about what such work entails
- Strengthening the knowledge and understanding of staff about the wide range of progression routes available so that girls and young women can make informed choices
- Considering how to link the contents of lessons, and skills to be developed, to Career opportunities
Roles and Responsibilities
The Careers Leader is Joanna Marchant who can be contacted on 0208 208 0500 or jmarchant@menorahhigh.com. The Careers leader works with the Senior Leadership to develop a Careers programme that meets statutory requirements and the needs of the students. Our Careers Leader with the Senior Management will:
- Take responsibility for developing, running and reporting on the school’s career programme
- Plan and manage careers activities
- Manage the budget for the careers programme
- Support teachers to build careers education and guidance into subjects across the curriculum
- Establish and develop links with employers, education and training providers, and careers organisations
- Work closely with relevant staff, including our special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) and careers adviser, to identify the guidance needs of all of our pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and put in place personalised support and transition plans
- Review our school's provider access policy statement at least annually, in agreement with our governing board
The SLT will
- Support the careers programme
- Support the careers leader in developing their strategic careers plan
- Make sure our school’s careers leader is allocated sufficient time, and has the appropriate training, to perform their duties to a high standard
- Allow training providers access to talk to pupils in years 8 to 13 about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships, and set out arrangements for this in our school’s provider access policy statement
- Network with employers, education and training providers, and other careers organisations
The governing board will:
- Provide clear advice and guidance on which the school can base a strategic careers plan which meets legal and contractual requirements
- Appoint a member of the governing board who will take a strategic interest in careers education and encourage employer engagement
- Make sure independent careers guidance is provided to all pupils throughout their secondary education (11 to 18 year-olds) and that the information is presented impartially, includes a range of educational or training options and promotes the best interests of pupils
- Make sure that a range of education and training providers can access pupils in years 7 to 13 to inform them of approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships
- Make sure that details of our school’s careers programme and the name of the careers leader are published on the school’s website
- Make sure that arrangements are in place for the school to meet the legal requirements of the ‘Baker Clause’, including that the school has published a provider access policy statement
Practice
Moving Forward – Preparing our pupils for their Future
Our ‘Moving Forward’ Programme gives our pupils the skills to manage their futures successfully by:
- Raising Achievement and Aspiration
- Making optimal choices
- Maximising opportunities
- Managing transitions
We enable the students to:
- Learn to understand themselves, their interests, likes and dislikes, their skills and how this affects the choices they make at each stage of their learning journey in school and in the world they will enter afterwards
- Create realistic, but ambitious, choices about courses and careers
- Develop a plan of action for the future
- Understand the different progression routes. These routes will include, further and higher education, seminaries, apprenticeships, training and employment opportunities
- Prepare for the next stage, to make effective applications for university, seminary, apprenticeships, training and employment including writing effective CVs/Personal Statements and developing interview skills
Aside from the statutory requirements, it is expected that the school Careers programme will align with the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks, which set out good practice for an educational setting’s Career education. The benchmarks and information on how we align with them can be found on the Careers Web-page.
Menorah High will achieve these aims by:
- Supporting staff to enable teaching and learning opportunities within the curriculum
- Encouraging staff to identify the contributions of CEIAG and to plan to develop it into schemes of learning where appropriate
- Promoting a variety of opportunities for career and employability learning e.g. speakers, planned activities, mock interviews, and business links etc
- Ensuring all students participate cross-curricular activities and PSHE, and have opportunities to take part in enterprise activities such as business days, and special projects linked with the wider world of work ( to be developed)
- Encouraging the practising and development of key skills both in and out of school
- Students to have the opportunity to take part in a programme of experience of a workplace
- Providing all students with opportunities to support aspirations and employability
- Providing 1:1 careers advice for students when choosing their exam courses, and providing a wide range of option choices to try to meet the needs of all students
- Developing opportunities for enterprise capabilities through a range of cross –curricular activities and discrete activities that are supported by other subject areas, including citizenship and pastoral curriculum
- Maintaining the Careers Hub website area
- Accessing Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) support and guidance, to continuously improve careers provision- (To be established)
Link to calendar of provision
Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
We expect that the majority of pupils with SEND will follow the same careers programme that meets the Gatsby Benchmarks as their classmates, with adjustments and additional support as needed.
Our careers leader will work with teachers and, where appropriate, professionals from relevant organisations, to identify the needs of our pupils with SEND and put in place personalised support and transition plans. This may include meetings with pupils and their families to discuss education, training and employment opportunities, supported internships and transition plans into higher education.
Our careers leader may, as appropriate, invite adults with disabilities to visit and share their experience and advice.
No information will be given to pupils without SEND that is not also offered to our pupils with SEND.
Access to Impartial Information & Guidance and Progression Routes
Students will learn about the full range of progression routes while in school. They will have the opportunity to meet education providers and/or current students of that pathway, who will help them understand the progression route.
The school:
- ensures that the School’s career learning programme reflects the school’s equal opportunity policy
- ensures that Year 11 students are offered careers education and employability guidance with an impartial adult, to reflect the interest, ambition and potential of each student
PROVIDER ACCESS
Please see the Provider Access Policy and the Careers Year Overview (on the Careers Web-page).
Evaluation and Monitoring
The school evaluates the Careers Programme against the Gatsby Benchmarks (see below).
The school ensures that the following key staff are involved in evaluation and monitoring:
- Middle Leaders monitor the curriculum and the quality of teaching and learning
- The Careers Leader coordinates the Careers programme
- The PSHE lead and SENDCO provide feedback on activities and inform priorities
- the Head Teacher line manages the Careers Leader
There is a system in place to ensure that the provision is regularly monitored and evaluated through:
- Compass evaluations (to be established)
- Links with the London Borough of Barnet and the Careers and Enterprise Company ( to be established)
- Regular meetings between the Head Teacher and Careers Leader
- A Careers Education and Employability audit takes place regularly, presented to the
Teaching and Learning Committee/Governing Body
- Regular meetings with the Careers Link Governor
Quality Standards for Young People’s Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG)
- Young people are informed about how information, advice and guidance services can help them and how to access the services they need
- Young people receive the information, advice and guidance on personal wellbeing and financial capability issues that they need
- Young people have the information they need to make well-informed and realistic decisions about learning and careers
- Young people have the advice and guidance that they need to make well-informed and realistic decisions about learning and career options
- Information, advice and guidance services promote equality of opportunity, celebrate diversity and challenge stereotypes
- Young people (reflecting the make-up of their communities) are engaged in the design, delivery and evaluation of information, advice and guidance provision
- Parents and carers know how information, advice and guidance services can help their children and know how these services are accessed
- Information, advice and guidance providers understand their roles and responsibilities
- Programmes of career and personal development of young people are planned and provided collaboratively
- Staff providing information, advice and guidance services work to relevant professional stands and receive continuing professional development
- Information, advice and guidance services are regularly and systematically monitored, reviewed and evaluated and actions are taken to improve services in response to the findings
- Processes for commissioning impartial information, advice and guidance services are effective and result in services that will meet the needs of young people and their parents/carers
A Code of Practice for Adults involved in Education, Careers Education, and
Guidelines to Young People
Introduction
Education and Careers guidance aim to prepare young people for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult and working life. It equips them with the knowledge, skills and attitudes for managing their lifelong progress in learning and work.
|
Principles |
Adults involved in education, and guidance to young people, have a responsibility to act within an explicit ethical framework, which promotes equality of opportunity and puts the needs of young people first. Teachers also need to work in partnership with parents and carers, guidance and support agencies and providers of opportunities in education, training and work. |
|
Practice |
To promote lifelong development, adults involved in education and |
guidance will ensure that:
In work with young people:
- The personal aspirations of individuals are treated with respect
- Individuals are treated without prejudice and have an entitlement and appropriate access to support education and guidance, regardless of race, gender, religion, ability, disability or social background
- Individuals understand the full range of options open to them and are helped to develop decision-making and transition skills in order to foster their independence and autonomy
- Individuals have access to accurate, up-to-date and impartial information relevant to their needs
- The health, safety and security of individuals takes precedence in all planned learning activities
- Respect for diversity is upheld, taking into account the beliefs and values of individuals and of the families and communities to which they belong
In work with partners and networks:
- They develop collaborative activities with key individuals and organisations in the interests of young people. They will expect partners to endorse this code of practice
- They recognise the role parents and carers play in guidance through arrangements to inform them about all related issues and by involving them as partners in the process
- They reach agreement with all those working with young people in the school to act in accordance with this Code of Practice and local quality standards for lifelong learning
We work towards the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks, which set out good practice for Careers provision.
For more information please see the link on the web-page.
ALUMNI
Alumni are an important element in a stable and inspiring careers programme.
Destination data is maintained on all students for several years after leaving school, as per statutory requirements.
Good practice includes student contact with alumni to learn from their career paths and broader experiences. This can include direct knowledge about specific careers, as well as skills and personal qualities.
Meet the Professionals Evening held every two years Link to Meet the professionals page
The staff body includes several alumni, and the school is working on achieving contact with alumni from a wider range of career paths.
Alumni who would like to volunteer can contact the Careers Leader.
For further information, please contact Madame Marchant at jmarchant@menorahhigh.com, or leave a message with the school office - 020 8208 0500.